A Literary Chronology of the American West

So what is the history of literature of the American West?  Good question.

There's a great chronology put together by Richard W. Etulain, UNM, in A Literary History of the American West, a book sponsored by the Western Literature Association and available in pdf from TCU Press in Fort Worth, TX.   The chronology goes from 1510, the first mention of the American West (California) - Las Sergas de Esplandian by Garcí Rodríguez Ordóñez de Montalvo - up to 1984's Westward the Women: An Anthology of Western Stories by Women, edited by Vicki Piek.  The chronology is pages 24-40 in the pdf.  Louis L'Amour's there.  Tom McGuane's there.  Joan Didion's there.

The whole book is fascinating, and I can't wait to dig deeper into it.

Over the next couple of weeks, we are going to be transferring this information to an interactive timeline, complete with images and video (if available), where we can add contemporary books as well. An exciting project, though a bit time consuming.  All-consuming, really, but in a good way.  We hope you enjoy the results! We'll post them ASAP.